The last month has been a rough one for me. I seem to be playing tag team with a variety of different lurgies that have wiped out my energy and at one point caused me to completely lose my voice (if you’re wondering why the podcast has been a bit sporadic the last couple of weeks, that’s why! I’m hoping to have enough of a voice back this week to get back behind the microphone!).
It’s interesting watching what comes up when for whatever reason, you cannot do, produce, or create what you normally do. I’m used to a high level of productivity; I always have a number of balls in the air at the same time and for the most part, I totally accept this. I’m in what I often describe as “the rush hour” of life; I have young children, a cohort of animals, my own business. All of these require something of me, and those requirements don’t end just because in any given moment I don’t feel like it or feel like I need a break. I know I am far from alone in this- and it’s also not a complaint. I have chosen them. It’s more an acknowledgment of what is and an understanding that life moves in cycles and the one I’m in just happens to be all systems go, all hands on deck.
I do believe, however, it’s possible to be anchored to an internal steadiness, even if life is moving fast on the outside. Two words I use a lot in my work are “activation” and “settling” and the movement practices I teach are all about sensitizing yourself to the energetic rising of activation and similarly, the steady return to baseline with the settling. What’s important to realise, however, is that operating from a settled place does not mean you are static. It’s possible to be moving fast but not hold a similar “speed” on the inside. To find the settling inside you within the busy-ness on the outside is the key to staying grounded during rush hour.
When I find myself concerned, worried or feeling like I’m letting people down (a common go-to I visit when I feel like I’m not doing everything I *should* or *need* to be doing), I know that I have transferred rush hour from the outside to the inside. I’ve swallowed it whole. And that the simple practice of inviting an intentional pause- a moment before I decide, speak or act- reinstates the somewhat revolutionary act of returning to yourself and ensuring that any busy-ness you are experiencing on the outside is not also carried within.
Onwards.
❤️ Jane
www.confidentrider.online/joyride
